The Tooth Whisperer
by blessende
Summary: Sixteen year old Eren learns to deal with life's most puzzling questions. With a little help of course. Set in the 'Searching for Levi' universe. [LevixEren]


**The Tooth Whisperer**

[_Set in the Searching for Levi Universe, year 2006. Dedicated to **SinGrin**.]_

* * *

This one's for the lonely child

Broken hearted, running wild

This was written for the one to blame

Ones who believe they are the cause of chaos in everything

- Satellite Call, Sarah Bareilles

* * *

The house was quiet. Then again, it had always been dreadfully quiet in the last six years. But lately… _lately_, the silence was becoming a heavy burden to teenage shoulders. Because while school taught you how to deal with peer pressure and high school bullies, while the classroom paved the way for education and a career, while the red bricked building with its lockers and long corridors taught you not to smoke weed, indulge in sex and alcohol, school didn't teach you the most important thing in life. And that was how to fix a broken home. Six years ago, when his father had walked away, Eren Jaeger had vowed to protect what was left of his family, to protect this fragile, glued together paper home of his. But the harsh reality of life was this. Not all vows could be fulfilled, not all promises could be kept. And here he was, watching that very same home crumble between his fingers. Like a sand castle washed away by turbulent sea waves.

His mother Carla was seated at the dining table, staring into thin space. There was a vacant expression on her aging features while she sat listless. Her apron was faded grey, its hem stained with the sauce, stew and rose tinted memories of yesterday. Carla Jaeger had seen the prime of her life flash by and she had nothing to prove it. Except for the bags under her eyes. Her eye liner was smudged from the tears she denied ever crying… but Eren knew. He knew because he wasn't that dense. He knew because there were still remnants of the man lying around the house, like souvenirs from a distant place. His mother held on to the baubles and trinkets while the sixteen year old abhorred the very sight of them. Eren knew because his mother slept very little every night. He could always hear her pacing in her room, always looking forlornly at a photograph on the dresser. And even on the rare nights that Carla Jaeger slept, they were but fleeting moments of deception.

School didn't teach you one other thing. That there were _some _problems in life, which didn't have an easy fix.

If you were really unlucky, they had no fix at all.

And that was the harsh reality of life.

The boy dug his spoon into the cereal floating in the milk. The cereal looked at him halfheartedly and Eren realised that the feeling was mutual. He took a lazy spoonful and munched on the Cheerios. It was at that moment when he felt it. The feeling that his lower jaw had caved, as if someone had swung a jackhammer into his head. The sixteen year old flinched as a mind numbing pain ran through his entire skull, numbing every nerve and blood vessel in his jawline. He stifled the contortion of his face with a hand. But Carla Jaeger, like any mother would, caught the jarring movement.

'What's wrong, Eren?' his mother asked, frightful with concern. 'Are you… hurt?'

'N-Nothing,' he forced a lie.

'But you look like you're in pain.'

'It's okay, mom. I just… bit my tongue. Don't worry,' he pushed away the bowl of cereal and grabbing hold of his satchel bag, he left for school in haste.

Carla stared after him. Before he could leave through the back door, she spoke up. 'Eren, wait... _Eren_!' she called and pointed to the cereal. 'What about breakfast?'

The brunette forced a smile. 'I will… grab something at school,' he said, hoping she wouldn't see his struggle with speech.

He managed to wave a clumsy goodbye to her.

Carla watched the teenager disappear behind the door. She opened her mouth to call his name again but the boy was gone.

..-..

There were three valuable lessons that Eren had learnt in the last one year.

1. Never tumble out of another man's bathtub. (Or threaten him with a razor blade. Not exactly a great way of saying _Hello! Greetings from Earth. We come in peace._)

2. He was not as invincible as he liked to believe.

3. And finally, that the universe was astonishingly big... and his blue green world quite small.

There were not many things Eren Jaeger was afraid of in his life. Protecting his home from a Titan invader? Ha. Piece of cake. A foul mouthed quasi Napolean? Not as intimidating as he'd initially thought. Surviving Keith Shadis' constant barrage of demoralising insults? Been there, done that. But standing before the revolving doors of The Dentist, he had a sickly notion that here- at last- was a formidable enemy whom even _he_ couldn't bring down.

Eren looked despairingly at Armin.

'Know what? I think I feel good already,' alleged Eren and did a one eighty. He tried a vain attempt at marching the way he had come.

But his blond best friend caught the lapel to his jacket and yanked him back. Eren cringed under Armin's scrutinizing glare. The blond gave the boy a grave look, frowning at him.

'Really? You're not hurting _at all_?' Armin asked, his squeaky voice laced with suspicion.

'Uh huh,' Eren said, feigning a small smile.

The blond boy grasped hold of Eren's jaw and gave it a violent tug. Because Armin's femininity ended with the hips and the squeaky voice. The kid could land a solid suckerpunch when he wanted to. Like now, for example. 'So, _this_ wouldn't hurt at all, would it?' challenged Armin, knocking his knuckles under Eren's jawline.

Eren felt a tremor erupt deep in his mouth. It reverberated to the very depths of his soul, shaking every fibre of his being. Eren jolted upright sharply and clutching his mouth, he let out a howl of pain. The brunette doubled over, gasping at the ground.

'Owwwww! What didja do that for?' Eren bellowed, clasping his hand around his face.

He grimaced and waited for the pain to subside.

Eren looked up at Armin, face red and furious. 'What the hell... did you DO. THAT . FOR?'

Armin sighed. 'You can't even _speak_ properly, Eren. Don't you dare run away now. You might fool Mrs. Jaeger but not _me_!'

The shorter boy stuffed one arm into the pocket of his jeans and with the other, he dragged Eren into the dentist's forcibly. _How old are you really? _Armin reprimanded his best friend, shoving Eren through the revolving glass doors._ Shame on you. I've never heard of a sixteen year old being afraid of a dentist! _

Making sure that Eren was seated in the lounge and had no plans to run away again, the blond went to check on the appointment roster. Yes, because Armin Arlert prided himself in being humanity's _greatest_ best friend. Which he was... _Most _of the time.

Rendered thus helpless and guilty, Eren sat on the couch dolefully, staring up at the posters on the wall. He scowled at them. It was all a conspiracy to hoodwink the common public, all a mass propaganda into making them think that dentists were not the true monsters of the world. He remembered a twelve year old Connie telling a story of how his orthodontist had pulled Connie's incisor out with his bare hands. _JUST_ B_ARE HANDS! _Connie would narrate, using his chubby hands to demonstrate the gruesome tale. Eren cast a glum look at the posters.

He made a face at 'The Correct Way to Floss Your Teeth' and next, frowned at 'How to Get That Perfect Smile'. He looked to his right and there was a plaster model of the perfect thirty two tonsils sitting on the coffee table. Eren Jaeger, aged sixteen, caught hold of his jaw and wondered what the hell was wrong with his own mouth. His milk teeth had fallen off when they were supposed to. And he had the almost perfect thirty two anyone could ask for.

That was when he remembered an incident from last year.

_Wait... _

He was wrong._  
_

Not thirty two.

He was missing one.

He thrust a finger into his mouth and groped around for the missing molar. And there it was, on the left rear. A missing space. He nudged it a little and a sharp shooting pain ran the length of his jaw again.

Eren's eyes widened and he waited for the tremors to subside.

_Shit, no way._

Armin returned and flopped down on the couch beside him. The blond began looking through the magazine brochures.

Eren blinked a few times, wondering if it was prudent to tell his best friend the truth.

No, Armin would call him crazy. Anyone would. How was he supposed to make anyone believe that he'd been violently beaten up last year? That he had faced a death trial in a land far, far away? Who the fuck would believe him? Sometimes, Eren wondered if he'd made up that quixotic world inside his head. And then, there were other times when he was reminded that Titan did exist. The pain in his mouth was one such constant reminder.

'The doc will call your name in a moment,' the blond remarked, interrupting his soliloquy.

Eren nodded glumly.

'I really … gotta do this?' he asked, giving Armin his best impression of a wounded puppy.

Armin avoided his gaze. '_Yes_. I am going to sit here and make sure you get your examination done, Eren. And I'm not gonna fall for that doe eyed look of yours. Save it for a stranger.'

Eren's spirit sank and he slumped back against the couch dejectedly.

The door to the doctor's opened and a woman in a white coat stuck her head out. She read the name aloud from her clipboard.

'Eren… Jaeger, is it?'

'Yes, ma'am,' said Eren, raising a hand in attendance. He wished he hadn't. Because answering to his stupid name had made his tongue hit that sensitive spot on his gums and the wave of terror coursed through his face again.

'Ow!' he yelped, grabbing his mouth.

The dentist looked at him in concern.

'That bad, huh?' she asked.

The teenager gave the lady the once over. She had ashbrown hair pulled into a neat bun. She wore gold hoops on her pierced ears and Eren noted that there was a wedding ring on one of her fingers. Unlike his own mother. Under the white coat, she wore a simple plaid shirt and khakis. The woman in her late thirties smiled chivalrously at him.

'Let me have a look. I'm Dr. Kirstein by the way.'

Eren stared at her and then, doing a head turn akin to The Exorcist, Eren Jaeger gave a narrow glance towards Armin.

There was a silent exchange of words.

'_Kirstein?'_ mouthed Eren to his best friend.

'_It can't be_,' Armin mimed back. '_Don't worry. It must be a coincidence. The world isn't that small… right?'_

The doctor grew restless and tapped her clipboard, drawing Eren's attention. 'Come on, young man. Inside! We don't have all day. I have six other appointments in my morning shift, you know.'

Eren gave one last woeful look towards Armin before following the woman into Mount Doom.

..-..

The world was indeed small. To be frank, the world was a cramped shithole of all the people that he didn't want to share his breathing space with. Chief among them was a boy with shifty brown eyes, a long face and the countenance of His Royal Highness. As if the world owed its entire existence to him. Because who else would be seated on the polished counter of the dentist's... except for that very same boy. Jean _effing _Kirstein.

'That's my son Jean,' said the dentist with a wide smile. 'Jean, this is Eren Jaeger.'

Eren looked up and cast an unforgiving glare at the false ceiling. He scorned at the invisible gods above.

_'Why?' _he demanded of them.

_Seriously, why do you hate me so much?_

Jean raised a hand in mock greeting. He was still in his high school uniform, the maroon blazer and the clean cut white shirt. 'Nice to meet you, _Jaeger_,' the taller boy said to Eren, sneering at him.

Dr. Kirstein considered her son for a brief moment. 'You two... know each other?'

'Nope,' Jean cut quickly.

Eren rolled his eyes at the blatant lie and the ashbrown teenager blew him a raspberry when his mother wasn't looking.

This was going to be a long day, Eren decided.

And he already hated it.

..-..

Dr. Kirstein had soul-unraveling chocolate brown eyes. At this close proximity, it was hard to miss them.

Eren was also painfully aware of the other pair of eyes boring into his head.

'Looks like a pulp infection,' remarked the dentist behind her surgical mask. She prodded the spot of the missing molar. 'Looks like you've still got some tooth left in there. Does it hurt... here?' she asked, tapping her probe against his mouth.

Eren nodded with a wince.

The dentist sighed. She drew back and peeled away her gloves as well as her mask.

She gave Eren a curious glance and the sixteen year old realised who exactly Jean had inherited his hazel eyes from. Of course, the brown in her eyes was more pronounced and warmer than the colt's.

'Let me guess… You got into a street fight?' she cast a reproving glance at him. 'Why do kids your age brawl so much? Do you know how many boys walk in here with chipped teeth and bleeding gums every day? Dozens! I don't mean to brag about my own son but Jean never picks a fight with anybody. Jeanie's a Straight A student,' she remarked, pausing to looked at her son proudly.

Eren craned his neck to give Jean a look of utter disbelief.

_Jeanie?_

But the other boy was staring at the ceiling, whistling like an innocent little choir boy.

_Never pick a fight with anybody?_ Eren almost spat in disgust.

Oh, if only the lady knew. Eren wanted to kick up a riot and tattle on all the war games he had to play with Jean since they were ten. But the dentist was already reaching for her syringe.

Eren went pale, eyes widening at the sight of the needle.

The doctor noticed the fear in his turquoise green eyes.

She gave an assuring, motherly smile. 'Don't worry. It's local anesthesia. We need to pull out the remnants of the tooth and clear the pulp.'

'Uh huh? Will… it hurt?' Eren asked and he ignored Jean's snort from the counter.

Dr. Kirstein shook her head. 'Just a little bit. But the local anesthesia will help you cope with the extraction.'

'Uh huh…?'

The dentist gave him a ginger smile. 'Trust me. Can I go ahead, Mr. Jaeger?'

Eren didn't know if he could trust anybody whose last name was Kirstein. But he gave her the thumbs up anyway.

..-..

There was something rather vulnerable about lying prostrate on a dentist chair with clamps holding your mouth in place and a lingering numbness that didn't even let you scream to your best friend for help. Where the hell was Armin when you needed him? Why the hell had he let Armin talk him into doing this?

As if his life couldn't get any worse, the intercom buzzed.

'Dr. Kirstein! DR. KIRSTEIN! Patient in room three needs a second opinion,' the receptionist informed.

'One moment,' the doctor mumbled, her eyebrows scrunched up in concentration. 'I'm almost there,' she muttered under her breath. Eren felt a dull knock against his lower jaw. She tugged hard and pulled out something white and bloody.

'Got it!' she said as if she'd just scored a double jump shot on the basketball court.

She leaned back, looking triumphant and began taking her gloves off. She placed the bloody half tooth on a metal tray and washed out the residue. 'Now, you stay there for ten minutes. I'll just go check on my other patient. Jean will help you clean up.'

Neither Jean nor Eren were happy about it. The latter couldn't even protest against it.

'Gross! I don't want to clean up that twerp's mouth,' complained Jean. 'Besides mom, you're gonna lose your license if you keep asking me to do all the dirty work,' the teenager grumbled.

Jean's mother smiled at him. 'I am grooming you.'

The boy rolled his eyes. 'I'm not gonna become a doctor, haven't I told you already!'

Dr. Kirstein aka The Dentist aka Jean's mom placed a comforting hand on Eren's forehead. 'He's a talker but he will take good care of you. I have put in a veneer replacement. You'll be fine in two days.'

Eren wasn't even worried about his molar anymore. He grabbed at her hand and shook his head vehemently. 'Pish! Naw him! Dun leve me with 'im!'

Dr. Kirstein looked at him quizzically.

'What's he saying?' she asked her son.

Jean had strode over. He gave Eren an apathetic glance and hooking an arm around the patient chair, he gave Eren a bright smile.

'Don't worry, mom. He's in safe hands.'

..-..

_Safe hands, his arse,_ Eren thought as Jean inserted the flushpipe and nozzle into Eren's mouth. Jean turned on the faucet and sneered at him.

'Never thought I'd see the day when I'd have to flush your potty mouth. I guess this is what they call… oh, what was that _word_… Started with a K… Right,' Jean said, snapping his fingers. '_Karma_! That's it!'

Eren glared at him. Oh, horseface was so gonna get it. As soon as Eren was unstrapped from the chair and he had the faculty of his mouth again.

Jean understood his predicament and gave a bark of laughter. The boy flicked Eren's forehead, knowing how helpless Jaeger was.

'This is a first. I get to call you whatever I want and know what? You can't do a _thing_ about it! Let's go alphabetically since we've got all the time in the world. A for _assmonkey_. B for _birdbrain_. C for-'

Eren gagged under the barrage of insults, since Jean had almost forgotten to turn the flushpipe on... which he was sure was no accident. Eren raised a hand and flipped his middle finger at the ashbrown.

Jean snorted. 'Oh, nasty! And what's with that constipated look? Oh wait, you can't talk, can you? Can't call me 'horseface' either.'

Eren fumed in silence.

Jean turned off the faucet and pulled away the nozzle.

'Spit,' he told the brunette, pointing to the basin.

Eren puckered up, his numb mouth getting ready to eject and Jean realised just what he was about to do. The ashbrown head shook his head in warning.

'Don't you dare spit on me, douche bag! In the basin! Spit in the _fucking_ basin!'

Eren looked disappointed but there was no point in spitting on the idiot's face now. Eren bent over the basin and ejected the drool and metallic taste in his mouth.

Jean held out a tissue, watching the brunette suspiciously.

Eren reached for the tissue grudgingly.

Jean smirked and pulled it away before his fingers could grab it.

'Heh. Aren't you gonna say 'thank you'?' the taller boy taunted.

Eren ground his teeth.

'Thwan yeh.'

Jean grinned. 'That sounded almost Vietnamese,' Jean chided but handed him the tissue.

Eren frowned, well as much as he could frown with that dopey mouth of his. He rubbed his mouth against the paper and crumpling it into a ball, he tossed it at Jean's face.

'Scan't belieb yer the dento son.'

'Huh?' Jean asked, catching the offending ball of paper with his quick reflexes.

'Still can't belieb yer her son!' Eren reiterated with difficulty, pointing between the closed door and the taller boy.

Jean gave him a narrow look.

'You think I got dropped by a stork?'

'Thot yeh get drepped by a hoarse.'

Jean rolled his hazel eyes.

'As if your parents _willed_ you into existence. Face it, Jaeger. Everyone has a mom and dad. Some you can be proud of and some... you can't.'

Eren said nothing and wringed his hands in front of him.

'Yehh.'

Jean smirked and pointed a finger to Eren's mouth.

'So, who kicked the shit out of you?'

Eren sent a death glare towards him.

'Shuddup, hoseface. Nun of yer buzness.'

Jean snickered.

'Hoseface, huh? Well, atleast that's new.'

..-..

'So, how did it go? Went smooth right?' Armin asked him as soon as Eren emerged out of the dentist's room.

The brunette held a pack of ice against his left cheek and mustered the dirtiest look he could gather.

'Fek yeh,' Eren replied, glaring at his blond best friend. 'Met Jaen Effin Kernt inside.'

Armin stared at him.

'You met J. F. K inside? The dead President John F Kennedy?'

Eren gave the boy an exasperated groan and stormed over to the reception.

When they had paid their dues and were about to leave the dentist's, Eren felt a familiar fluidity return to his lower face. He flexed his jaw and realised that the effects of the local anesthesia were finally leaving him. Eren thanked the gods above. Yes, he had been granted the powers of speech again. And about time too!

'Armin! Hold on!' he said, feeling exuberant already.

'Ok but Eren, what are you doing-'

Armin had hardly finished when he saw the brunette turn around and disappear through the revolving doors.

Eren made for the dentist's operation theatre. And sure enough, his nemesis was still sitting on the counter.

'Hey _Secretariat_,' he called, testing his new found voice.

Jean looked up, not amused by his reappearance.

'Look who learned to talk again? And wow, big word for a small guy,' Jean said, glowering back at him. 'You've got something to say?'

'Yeah. Just one thing.'

'And what's that?'

Eren smirked. He had thought of a great comeback line alright.

'You've got a hot mom. Too bad you didn't get the looks from her.'

The door at the other end of the room shut audibly. Eren turned and paled when he found himself looking at Dr. Kirstein. She glanced between the two teenagers in surprise before turning her attention to Eren, humoring him with a smile.

'Why, _thank you_, Mr. Jaeger. Meet me in seven years and maybe we can hit it off, huh?'

'_Mom_!' Jean said in exasperation, pressing a hand over his face.

Eren excused himself politely, having gone red in embarrassment.

..-..

Like Jean's mother had promised, Eren forgot all about that renegade tooth fragment. Eren had taken it home, wrapped it up in a tissue and locked it inside his desk. He didn't remember it until one afternoon spent on a distant planet in another galaxy. He was sitting on the meadow of an observation point, still decked in his training corp uniform. Since he had snuck out of drill practice. Sgt. Keith Shadis wasn't going to be happy if he found his class of thirty corps sans one. Sgt. Keith Shadis was especially not going to be happy when he realised that it was rookie cadet Eren Jaeger who was missing.

Here on the high meadow of the observatory, Eren wasn't alone. There was a man sitting three feet away, looking over the city just like he was. Except this shorter man did not seem enthused or charmed by the skyscraper city like he was. Suited in his black riot control uniform, geared up in shin guards, elbow protector, the zirconium blades and electric taser on his belt, Rivaille Levi looked more intimidating than usual. His helmet lay in his lap and he was scrubbing it furiously. Some hoodlum had got red graffiti paint sprayed all over the helmet's lid. Levi had his handkerchief out and was rubbing at the stain meticulously.

'Someone got you good, huh, Lieutenant?' teased Eren.

Levi paused his cleaning to glare at the boy. 'Don't worry, kiddo. I got him good too. After all, he was another idiot just like you.'

Eren bit back a grin. 'Of course,' he said and turned back to the plume of smoke rising at the borders of the bubble city.

'So, the riots are under control now?'

'No, they are still going on,' Levi said indifferently.

Eren snapped his head in his superior's direction.

'Whoa, whoa. What the hell are you doing _here_ then?'

Levi gave the younger a shrug.

'What do you think I am doing, shithead? Taking a break.'

Eren stared at the raven haired man in disbelief. 'What do you mean you're taking a break? You're supposed to be defending the city! Keeping the peace, helping people, saving lives, any of that ring a bell?'

Levi snorted.

'Being a hero was never in my job description.'

'B-But, you're a PeaceCorp!'

Levi gave him the stink eye. 'Let me guess. That's what they're teaching you these days? That's what you think being a PeaceCorp is all about?'

'It… isn't?' Eren asked quizzically.

There was a silence and Levi turned to watch the city again.

'Listen up, Eren. And listen well. How will you bring peace to the world if it isn't inside you first?'

Eren sat quiet, startled by that thought provoking question. He'd expected that piece of insight from anywhere but the foul mouth of his senior.

Levi continued speaking, rubbing furiously at the stain on his helmet. 'Sometimes, Eren, it's important to remove yourself from a problem and look at it from a third perspective. You get me?'

Eren turned back to the trail of smoke.

'A third perspective...?'

Levi gave a small nod.

'Yes, trooper. Did you ever ask yourself what these people are fighting for?'

Eren shrugged.

'They're rebels right? Isn't fighting what they do?'

'Maybe... Maybe not. You never know who the enemy is. It could be machines. It could even be humans. But remember there are two sides to a war. Whose side do you think we should be on?'

'The… good guys side?' Eren attempted, breaking into a cheery laugh.

Levi almost smiled at his oblivious answer. 'If only it were that simple,' Levi said, getting up to his feet and walking over to Eren. The raven haired man hovered before him, a mass of black against the afternoon hues of the Titan sky. 'Sometimes you can't tell the difference between the good and the bad. What do you do then? What do you do in a universe filled with chaos?' Levi asked and then, pointed to the smog covered sky above them, where there was a faint circle of light visible. 'See that sun over there, Eren? It wasn't always a dwarf star. It was a blazing ball of energy years ago. But look at it now. It's dying. That's the cycle of life. You are borne from chaos, you mature to the pinnacle of your life and then you are consumed by the same chaos. Do you get me?'

'I... dunno?' Eren confessed, his head hurting from all the riddlespeak.

Eren watched in surprise as the Lieutenant sank on one knee before him and watched him for a long moment. Eren gulped, resisting the urge to flinch when Levi caught his head. The man pressed a thumb against Eren's chin and with his index finger, prodded Eren to open his mouth.

'Wha-?'

'Open your mouth, chaos,' Levi urged in a soft voice. 'It's an order.'

Eren gave in to that strange request and opened his mouth, allowing Levi to peer inside. What Levi saw, Eren didn't know. The man's pokerface gave nothing away. The Lieutenant traced his thumb along Eren's jawline, eyebrows furrowed. The morose man leaned back after his investigation and gave a curt nod. 'As I thought. You got a replacement, huh?'

Eren closed his mouth shut, looking at the man in amazement.

'How the hell did you know?'

'Sir,' Levi corrected.

'Fine. How the hell did you know, _sir_?'

'Just an intuition,' Levi admitted with a shrug. He got up to his feet and after stretching his tired muscles, he began moving to the TJ parked atop the meadow. He paused briefly to pick up his helmet.

Eren stared after him.

'Wait, you didn't give me the answer. What does someone do in a universe filled with chaos?'

Levi turned to look at him. The figure in the riot control uniform was small against the city's landscape but in Eren's view, he could see wings soaring high, reaching higher than even the tallest skyscrapers of Trost. That one man and his Wings of Freedom.

'Chaos and order always go together, trooper,' Levi replied. 'What you should do is find the one thing that keeps you stable even in a storm. Discover the one thing that helps you deal with all the shit that the universe throws at you. That is the lesson of war. Hell, that is the lesson of life itself.'

Eren watched as the grey eyed man gave him a curt wave and climbed into the TJ. He watched the man disappear into the cockpit.

As the engine rumbled to life, the sixteen year old mused over the man's words.

_Find the one thing that keeps me stable and calm?_

_The order to my chaos?_

Eren let slip a bittersweet smile.

_But I've already found you, Levi._

* * *

_You will be aware of an absence presently,_

_Growing beside you like a tree,_

_I love your stupidity,_

_The blind mirror of it. I look in_

_And find no face but my own._

_One day you may touch what's wrong_

_Till then your smiles are found money._

-For a Fatherless Son, Sylvia Plath

* * *

..-..


End file.
